Her Werewolf Bodyguard

Prologue The air was thick with the scent of blood. Her people’s blood. Little Ariana Black squeezed back further into her cubby hole and pressed her hands over her ears as hard as she could. The screams were dying down now. Was she the last one? Where was her mother? Ariana sniffed back tears and tried to be quiet. If they found her, she was dead.  What was that? Her ears pricked and she lowered her hands to strain to hear. Was it man or animal? Something was right outside the door, she was sure, and her heart started pounding. They’d found her and she was going to be ripped apart now. Ariana pressed a hand over her mouth to hold back a scream. Suddenly the door to the closet was ripped open and a man stood looming down at her. A dark-gray wolf was at his side. “There you are.” The man’s grin was wicked and she shrank back against the wall. It didn’t matter. He bent down and grabbed her arm, flinging her out and onto the hard floor. The wolf made sure she didn’t get up. One large paw pressed down against her chest, holding her in place.  “Where’re my parents?” He laughed and pointed across the room. She craned her neck around to see and choked on a scream. Her dad, one of the greatest Alphas who ever lived, was in pieces by the fireplace. Her mother was beside him, her lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. Ariana struggled to get to them but the gray wolf held her down. No matter how hard she pushed he wouldn’t budge. “You’ll not be getting away from Derek,” the man chuckled, reaching down to scratch behind Derek's ears. “He’s my son and I’ve trained him well.” “Who are you?” Her voice trembled and she hated it. Her parents valued bravery above everything else.  “Me? I’m insulted. Your parents never mentioned me?” He laughed darkly. “Well, I suppose they wouldn’t. My name is Jason. I’m the Alpha of the Blue Mountains pack.” She’d heard of them but only through snippets of gossip and talk amongst the grownups. No one in her pack liked them. “Why did you attack us?” She felt Derek’s breath hot on her face and she turned away in disgust. Jason squatted down next to her and reached out a hand to touch her hair. It was as silky and onyx as anything he’d ever touched. Yes, she would do nicely, he thought. “Well, actually, it’s your parents' fault. They wouldn’t be reasonable, no matter how nicely I asked. So,” he said, spreading his hands out and shrugging, “I had to come take it. Your parents thought they were untouchable. You know, right before I crushed your father’s skull with my teeth, I saw in his eyes what a grave mistake he’d made. He knew he should’ve given me what I wanted, but it was too late.” Ariana squeezed her eyes shut and felt hot tears slip down her cheeks. “Are you going to kill me too?” Jason opened his mouth, but before he could answer a loud snarling growl came from the window and then a body hurtled through, all fur and teeth and snapping. The wolf dove right for Derek and knocked him away from Ariana who quickly rolled away. Jason stalked over to grab her and managed to get a hand clamped around her arm, but another wolf, a red one, barged through the door and went straight for Jason’s throat. He dropped Ariana back on the floor and yelled as he went down. The red wolf raised a paw and brought it down hard across Jason’s face causing him to howl in pain. “Derek, get out of here,” he yelled to his son, who was still battling the other wolf, a black one this time. Ariana stared. She’d never seen a black wolf before. It was beautiful. “Get out!” Jason shouted, shifting into a wolf also, a black and gray one. He snapped his teeth at the red one, getting it right in the shoulder and causing a momentary lapse that allowed him to bolt through the window. The black wolf was momentarily distracted by the yelp of pain from his friend and that allowed Derek time to knock him aside and get away also. Before he did though, he turned to look at Ariana and gave one last snarl before going the same way his father did. Ariana huddled in a corner, terrified. She didn’t take her eyes off the two wolves, even as others entered the room. They’d saved her, didn’t they? They wouldn’t hurt her. Then they all left to go into the next room. They were shifting back and didn’t want her to see them naked, she knew. She buried her head in her arms and tried to control her pounding heart. Her parents were dead. Everyone she ever knew had been gruesomely killed. What was going to happen to her? Then she heard footsteps padding closer. She looked up and in the blurry haze of tears, she saw an arm stretched out, a hand for her to take. When everything refocused, she saw a man attached to it. Well, not a man really, but older than her. A teenager? He looked older than her but way younger than her dad. “Come. I’ll take you away from all this,” he said quietly. “My parents,” she choked out. He squatted down and brushed away a tear from her cheek. “I know. We came as soon as we got the message. Come with me and I’ll take care of you, alright? No one will ever hurt you again.” Even though he was a total stranger, she felt as though she could trust him with her life. He had the most honest blue eyes and his smile was friendly. She slipped her small hand in his and stood up. He blocked her view of the c*****e by wrapping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her into the next room. Several men and one woman turned to look at her as she entered. One man, in particular, stood out, a head taller than everyone else and broad-shouldered, with black hair that was graying at the edges. He was a bit older than her father but not by much. He slowly walked over to her and leaned over, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I’m Liam, Alpha of the Silver Moon pack. This is Nicholas.” He gestured at the older boy next to her and she looked up. Nicholas. It suited him. “Your father was like a brother to me. I always promised him I’d take care of you if anything happened to him or your mother. We have to go now, okay?” Ariana felt numb now and just nodded. She felt weak and dizzy. Someone put a blanket around her quivering shoulders and she sagged against Nicholas. He immediately picked her up and she allowed it. The last thing she remembered before everything went black was Nicholas' blue eyes looking down at her.